Torah from Jericho

Seeing the anti-Israel protests in Europe, with people shouting “Death to the Jews” in Paris makes me realize once again that anti-Zionism truly is anti-Semitism. Let me be clear as to what I mean. Zionism is belief in a homeland for the Jewish people. Anti-Zionism goes beyond criticizing Israeli policy to denying the right of Jews to have a country of our own. Without a Jewish homeland, we will lose the cohesive force of unification that binds us together as a people. Whatever Jews’ personal views are of Israel, we band together during times like this to stand united behind our Jewish state. At the same time, others are banding together to castigate the Jewish homeland. These individuals are not criticizing policies: they are condemning the right of our people to have our own country while concurrently uttering anti-Semitic slurs. These anti-Zionist rallies are revealing the true, anti-Semitic colors of the protesters.